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The Early Word: Two Candidates Diverge

If Wednesday’s action on the campaign trail was any indication, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain appear to be embarking on two very different paths to Nov. 4.

Senator McCain, the Republican nominee, and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have been turning up the volume on their attacks on Mr. Obama’s character and judgment all week (save for Tuesday night’s much more tame presidential debate) and they did so again on Wednesday while stumping in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller reports that Mr. McCain “devoted most of two campaign appearances on Wednesday to lusty attacks on Senator Barack Obama and gave less attention, and offered very few specifics, to the growing economic woes of American voters.”

The Los Angeles Times notes that the rally in Pennsylvania had an “edgy tone” as Mr. McCain portrayed his opponent as “an unreliable choice for president.”

(Mr. McCain also touched on the proposal he made on Tuesday night for the government to buy up and help Americans re-finance their home mortgages. The Times’s Jackie Calmes explores the plan in more detail today, finding that while the proposal would allow homeowners to refinance mortgages with government help, “it would leave taxpayers to cover the losses, rather than the financial institutions that hold the original mortgages.” Senator Obama opposes the plan.)

In nearby Indiana, Mr. Obama took a different approach, speaking at first in gloomy terms about the economic crisis, but then using language that The Times’s Patrick Healy writes exuded “Reaganesque confidence”:

“I’m here, Indiana, to tell you that there are better days ahead,” Mr. Obama said after his line about the grim way things were going. “I know these are tough times, and I know that many of you are anxious about the future. But this isn’t a time for fear or for panic. This is a time for resolve and steady leadership.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that although the Obama campaign still considers winning Indiana a “long shot,” the Democratic candidate has been narrowing the gap with his Republican opponent, according to a number of recent polls in the state.

In an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson on Wednesday, Mr. Obama accused Senator McCain of trying to score “cheap political points.” Meanwhile, in an interview on Fox News, Mr. McCain told host Sean Hannity that Mr. Obama is not prepared to be president.

The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states — Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina — could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers.

Top campaign officials for both parties, pollsters and independent experts say the intense focus on the economic turmoil and last week’s bailout vote have combined to rapidly expand a Democratic advantage in Congressional contests. Analysts now predict a Democratic surge on a scale that seemed unlikely just weeks ago, with even some Republicans in traditional strongholds fighting for their political careers, and Democratic leaders dreaming of ironclad majorities.

Youth Vote Though Florida’s large population of seniors is often the focus of voter outreach efforts in the state, Time Magazine’s Tim Padgett notes that the state’s young voters could actually be the deciding factor in the election. Here are some facts:

More than 150,000 voters under age 30 voted in Florida’s Democratic primary this year, despite the fact that Obama didn’t even campaign there because the national party had ruled the election wouldn’t count. (That was due to Florida changing its primary date in violation of both GOP and Democratic Party rules). Almost 135,000 in that age group voted in the state’s Republican primary. Those figures still accounted for less than 10% of all Florida primary voters, but they represented a 14% turnout for that bloc, up from a measly 4% in 2000.

* Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin participate in a joint town hall meeting in Waukesha, Wis. Later Senator McCain holds a rally in Mosinee, Wis. And Gov. Palin holds a rally in Wilmington, Ohio.

The vigorous attacks on the Obama-Ayers connection have come too late. here was this Swiftboat-style junk last month? Or even Tuesday night at the debate? McCain likes playing dirty – he’s just not ready to reach the point of no return with this stuff.

McCain; attack, deceive, lie , condescend and offer no substance.
Obama: Take the high road, offer hope, truth and substance.

Voter Rolls: If you can’t win the election; drop voters from the rolls to favor your party. The changes in election laws was to enfranchise voters, not to disenfranchise them. People are going to watch this closely, especially in those states that are close. Based upon the things that happened in 2000 and 2004; anything but a smooth election will result in a not very happy electorate. People are already mad at the party in charge and culling voter r9olls to favor the Republican Party would result in something ugly.

Downballot: People in this country blame the Republican Party for the current state of affairs. This is not a surprise.

Youth Vote: This is important for the future of the country Let’s hope they come out in strong numbers. It their future we are talking about here.

McLame has to use two women to do his dirty work about Obama! Like Obama said in an interview, say the nasty stuff to his face in the next debate. I am betting that McLame does NOT have the courage to do that!

These guys couldn’t be more different anyway… McCain’s time was in 2000…. If he’d been president, then I think the country would have been on a much better track, but now he’s been bitten by the neo-con vampires and there’s no going back… There is virtually no difference between he and Bush on policy. Obama, on the other hand, is exactly what we need right now.. A team player. Michael Jordan. There was a story that compares their two styles to that of a wrestler and a basketball player at //www.motleybloggers.com/2008/09/wrestler-vs-shooting-guard-athletic.html It’s just interesting that how much each candidate personifies the archetypical ideas of the sports they grew up playing

It is obvious that the only thing left for the Rep. to do is to defamate the charachter of someone who has more style, grace, and intellect than they will ever have. They can not run on the pertinent issues which our country’s needs at this present time.

As a Chatholic, it is deplorable to listen to the hate coming from this ideological camp. These people are far from Christians and the teachings of Christ. They practice and preach malfecences.

They are spoiled brats who have nothing to offer America and so they have to resort to name calling.

It is not surprising that there are many Americans who who are actually believing their rhetoric. America is truely a melting pot of good and evil and some dumb folks.

In the 1960’s, our country was fighting an unpopular war that had been authorized by a resolution based on a falsehood. The parallels with Iraq are inescapable.

The 60’s were an age of great social upheaval. The civil rights’ movement and the antiwar movement shaped our society and held out hope for the future.

Unfortunately, a climate of hate accompanied the promise of hope. Opposition to the leaders of the change movements assumed a vicious, personal quality. The charged atmosphere of 60’s America gave rise to Memphis, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

As Senator Obama gets closer to winning the presidency, the McCain campaign is demonizing him in a personal, hateful way. Crowds at republican events are now screaming epitaphs like “treason” and “terrorist” and “kill him” referring to Senator Obama.

I have not seen such a poisonous mood since the 60’s. And I have never seen it in a presidential campaign. Governor Palin seems to delight in rabble rousing…and make no mistake, the rabble is roused.

I can only hope that the Secret Service is monitoring the situation, and that they are extra vigilant in caring for the man who seems destined to be the next president of the United States.

The McCain Palin attacks are sleazy. McCain is losing with dishonor. Palin’s current associations with secessionists who currently hate America are a lot more real than anything she is alleging about her opponents.

You should take very seriously what the ideologues publicly tell their sinecured mates on media payrolls – Dick Cheney told us he was our front man to negotiate with gangsters on the Ollie North radio show shortly after his inauguration as VP.

Does Obama need to defend himself against McCain’s tired-old-factless attacks? I don’t think so. Rather he should take a high road and keep issues at the focus. When americans are scared about losing jobs, savings, homes and peace, they won’t stand for these attacks rather they will attracted to someone who has shown compassion, calm and leadership. A solid win for Obama.

I thought Cindy McCain’s face and words yesterday talking about Obama’s voting against troop support (“it sent a shiver down my spine”) were the most hate-filled I have ever seen. On top of that, Obama’s record is clearly on the side of voting support for the troops. Cindy McCain is scary, truly.

I’m wondering if I should take a 401k check my old job gave me, cash it, and then keep the money safely at home. The 20% the governement will take out is nothing compared to what I might lose if the stock market keeps tanking.

Lathering up these all-white crowds huddled probably in some airplane hangar, inciting visceral impulses from folks who would never bring themselves to vote for a person of color, lacking any substantive plan or response to a terrifying crisis that has torn-to-shreds the life savings of even the upper-middle classes’ 401Ks, McCain-Palin seem to be calling for no other action than to send their audiences out with some rope, looking for a tall tree.
Is this speaking softfly and carrying a big stick?
Where’s the stick?
This is beyond shrill — full-throated, unabashed hatred-mongering.
It is not leadership.
It is not a “steady hand on the tiller”.
Can you imagine someone with the temperments of McCain or Palin (birds of a feather indeed) brokering peace side-by-side with our allies from Europe and Asia? Or building a consensus among the world’s leading economies for getting out of our current, or future, economic crises?
And Cindi — Obama’s children are too young to serve now — but I don’t think his feet would fit into your $400 million Guccis. What we are looking for is someone who knows that peace is precious, and war is a waste.

Angry shallow Old McBush uses his surrogates, Cindy the wicked witch of the west and Sarah the wicked witch of the North. To dredge up all of the same old Lies to attack Obama. The same old lies that the fact checks have dismissed as false. During the debate McSame was scared to bring up these attacks to Obama’s face for fear that they would be exposed for the Filth and Lies that they are.

Republicans are in deep doo doo because their anti-government and anti-tax ideology doesn’t go down well when it’s lack of government oversight that caused this mess and it’s the tax payers who will have fork out the money for the bailout. The difference between the two parties has never been this crystal clear and this easy to understand.

“My government is my worst enemy. I’m going to fight them with any means at hand.”

The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. Inconveniently for Palin, that’s the very same secessionist party that her husband, Todd, belonged to for seven years and that she sent a shout-out to as Alaska governor earlier this year. “Keep up the good work,” Palin told AIP members, “And God bless you.” AIP chairwoman Lynette Clark told me recently that Sarah Palin is her kind of gal. “She’s Alaskan to the bone … she sounds just like Joe Vogler.”

The Country is headed for the next Great Economic Depression and all McBush offers is negative attack AD’s and lies. OH, and an old plan from the Hillary campaign to buy up every mortgage. This plan would spend Three Hundred Billion Dollars to Rescue the Evil Corporate Banker Billionaires whose greed brought us to this crises point.